With the High Holidays allowing for some time off of work and the every day routine, Israelis toured the Holy Land's beautiful countryside with its impressive nature reserves, many of which provide night parking and well-marked trails.
However, those who chose to sleep in unauthorized territory, light a fire where it is not permitted, litter, or even hunt illegally – should have thought twice. 'Big Brother' - in the form of Israel's Nature
and Parks Authority - was watching.
Ynet recently learned that in addition to the dozens of inspectors that keep watch over travelers and the surrounding nature during the holidays, the Nature and Parks Authority deployed a light plane which circled over open fields (particularly over southern Israel).
Such spaces constitute roughly 90% of the lands under the Authority's control.
Trash left by travelers (Photo: Ilan Twig)
Sources in the Nature and Parks Authority claimed this was not the first time they used aerial support for monitoring purposes, seeing as the vast landscape requires extended coverage, especially during the holidays.
Aerial assistance is also used in order to prevent the violatation of nature conservation rules, such as vehicles driven on the beach during the summer months. Nevertheless, Authority sources said they had no intention of issuing tickets and fines to disobeying travelers caught violating rules via aerial support.
The sources claimed that the use of the plane during the holiday of Sukkot
served a number of purposes, which include providing assistance during rescue operations, putting out fires and preventing damage to the environment.
The Nature and Parks Authority used two planes for enforcement and supervision purposes. The hourly rate charged for their use ranged between NIS 300-600 (roughly $80-160).
Still, most of the workload fell on the shoulders of the inspectors who assisted lost or dehydrated travelers, and even those who got stuck with their vehicles or sometimes even worse.
The Nature and Parks Authority distributed an information leaflet on various websites, which includes rules for safe traveling.
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